Offsite meetings valued by employees, imago research reveals

Research into the value of face to face communication showed that employees value offsite meetings compared to those held in-house.

The research - Does the future have room for face-to-face communication - was conducted amongst a sample of more than 750 event organisers, delegates, graduate and undergraduate students.

The research revealed that delegates felt getting to know colleagues outside the office was the most valuable element of an offsite meeting, followed by increasing learning ability away from office distractions and meeting new people that encouraged new thinking.

Respondents who took part in the focus group sessions agreed that a neutral environment encouraged a fresh approach to thinking, with interactive sessions and good food showed investment in employees to make them feel rewarded.

Emma Boynton, Head of Sales and Marketing at imago, commented: “All too often meetings are arranged in-house. Whilst this is convenient it often doesn’t lead to productive outcomes for those attending or the organisers. Holding a meeting offsite should not just be seen as a day away from the office. As our research revealed that employees get more out of going to meetings that are not held in familiar surroundings – it encourages them to get to know their colleagues, increases their learning ability and by meeting new people i9t encourages a different way of thinking. All of these elements are beneficial to those attending and the businesses they work for as it provides a greater return on investment.”

The research was undertaken by Loughborough University and imago.  The Right Solution provided methodology, analysis and validation of the research which was conducted amongst 779 respondents using a mixture of focus groups, online and face to face questionnaires.  The final research paper is available from http://go.welcometoimago.com/meet-the-future. Follow the debate and share thoughts about the research on Twitter via #futureF2F.

Such has been the success of imago’s research, the organisation is planning a follow-up research project, which will be launched later this year. Emma adds: “The feedback from the research and its findings have been extremely positive. As an organisation it is helping us shape successful meetings for our clients and improve the services we offer. The purpose of the next research project is to look into individual areas in more detail and we look forward to seeing the results.”

imago unifies Loughborough University’s conference and events venues under one brand offering high quality meeting spaces, venues and accommodation along with excellent sports and leisure facilities. imago manages the AIM Gold accredited Burleigh Court and Holywell Park as well as Loughborough University’s conference and events facilities and The Link Hotel.